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CBS2 Exclusive: Armed Intruder Caught On Video Ransacking Brooklyn Home

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Members of a Brooklyn family woke up Monday morning to find a shocking site on their home security monitor.

As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported Monday night, the family found a masked man inside their home, just below the room where their children were sleeping. The man also had a gun.

"When the police came, we looked over the video, and suddenly, what do I see? The guy has a gun!" said burglary victim Haim Mitnizki. "It's clear, and then I realized how lucky I was."

Mitnizki, of Crown Heights, was sound asleep early Monday morning when the burglar broke into a rear door and entered his home.

Mitnizki is in the security business, and his home is equipped with surveillance cameras and motion detectors. They set off a piercing alarm, and woke up the house.

Mitnizki said he looked at a video feed on his laptop and spotted the intruder.

"I was yelling to my wife: 'Call the cops! Get the kids! Protect the kids! I'm going downstairs,'" he said.

Mitnizki said he grabbed a knife for protection. But by the time he got downstairs, the burglar had fled.

This burglar was really brazen, Aiello reported. Not only did he target a house that was clearly marked as having home security, but he also broke one of the surveillance cameras as he approached the back door.

The NYPD was working to determine Monday night whether the burglary was linked to others. Meanwhile, the Shomrim, a local volunteer patrol, was warning residents.

"If you hear noises within your house, call 911 immediately," said Mendy Hershkop of the Crown Heights Volunteer Patrol. "Do not try to confront the perpetrator."

Mitnizki's company is offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the man who stole some money, some business papers, and the family's sense of security.

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